24 January 2009

The City's news organs piled on yesterday's startling report that the "21" Club, one of the last bastions of style and formality in New York, had thrown out its requirement that men wear jackets and ties at dinner. (It's still encouraged, but not a must.)

The New York Post ran a lengthy article, with people weighing in on both sides of the issue. (Big surprise: old people deplore the development; young people think its swell.) Of course, the sloppy daily got the main points wrong, calling "21" "one of the very last eateries in New York that still required male customers to wear a jacket and tie." It was the last one, dumbasses!

Also weighing in were NY Magazine's Grub Street; the Albany Times Union; and the Zagat blog. (Nothing at the sleepy NY Times or Daily News yet.)

Speaking of Zagat, it will no longer need to indicate in its New York guides restaurants which require a tie. There are none. As for ones that still require a jacket, there are a mere 13 in the 2009 guide: "21" Club, Four Seasons, Le Cirque, Daniel, Per Se, The Modern, Le Perigord, Le Grenouille, Jean George, Carlyle, Le Bernadin, River Cafe, and Rainbow Room (which isn't really functioning right now).

Couldn't we get the old-school Le Grenouille to uphold the old ways and begin requiring ties again?

The original, running Jeremiad on the vestiges of Old New York as they are steamrolled under or threatened by the currently ruthless real estate market and the City Fathers' disregard for Gotham's historical and cultural fabric. Est. January 2006.Contact Me

About Me

I have lived in New York City since 1988 and earn my bread as a writer. I began this blog in January 2006. Beyond that, don't be so nosy.
"I am not a pessimist; to perceive evil where it exists is, in my opinion, a form of optimism."
—Roberto Rossellini